Chapter 7: Advisory Councils

What is an Advisory Council?

Since the beginning of the Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) pilot programs in 1974, advisory councils have been required by law. According to Minnesota Statutes 121.882 (1984), the school board of any district establishing or expanding an early childhood family education program “shall appoint an advisory council for the area in which the program is provided. A majority of the council shall be parents participating in the program. The council shall assist the board in developing, planning, and monitoring the early childhood family education program. The council shall report to the school board and the community education advisory council.”

Advisory councils are designed to give advice and counsel as their name implies. They differ from boards in that they have no legal authority for administering the business matters of the program and thus are not responsible for budgets, hiring, firing, or policy setting. This is not to say that councils are not as important or valuable as boards; they simply have different roles. Early Childhood Family Education Advisory Councils perform a variety of valuable functions as described in this chapter.

Who is on an Advisory Council? Which Groups Should be Represented?

The composition of an advisory council can vary greatly, but the majority of members must always be parents active in the program. As long as they have this parent majority, advisory councils can be jointly formed with those for other early childhood programs, such as School Readiness, or have cross representation with site-based councils. The advisory council should meet at least four times per year and include a majority of parents, supplemented by local community professional or agency representatives who offer technical input and guidance. If needed, parent subcommittees can also meet monthly or more as needed to plan fundraisers and program operations. Although many Early Childhood Family Education programs do not have advisory council bylaws, some school districts find them helpful. Free child care should always be provided for advisory council meetings.

Parent members who comprise the majority of the advisory council should, if possible, reflect the demographics of parents in the community and may include both fathers and mothers as follows:

Single parents

Parents from all income levels

Parents of children from all age groups: one-, two-, three- and four-year-olds, and newborns

Parents from all attendance areas of the school district

Rural, suburban, and urban parents if school district includes these areas

Parents who are working outside the home, as well as parents who work primarily in the home.

It may be difficult to recruit fathers for the advisory council; however, they can be a tremendous asset to the program. Parents with business, budgeting and fund raising backgrounds are valuable council members. It is vital that council membership be representative of all the income levels in the community so that the council does not become either a "poverty program" or an "elite group of parents." Finally, it is essential that single parents, nontraditional families, and parents who work outside the home be represented so that their programming needs are considered in planning and evaluation.

The professional or agency representatives on the council will vary with the local community structure and the program's need for input.

Most advisory councils range in size from 10-20 members with size being determined by the size of the program or community and the amount of work council members are expected to do. If the council is primarily work or task-oriented, it needs to be larger to spread the jobs among more people. If the council is organized primarily to provide input, it can be smaller as long as it is representative of the community.

How Long Should Council Members Serve?

A one- to two-year commitment may be long enough for many members. When members enjoy serving on the council, they may ask to sign on for an additional one- or two-year commitment at the end of their first term. It often takes members the entire first year to become thoroughly familiar with the program and the advisory council's functions, leaving them only one year of active service after the initial learning period. An additional term will result in more productive service time. Having a two- or three-year service commitment reduces the need to continually train new members, yet allows the program to periodically add new members to the council. Specific service terms also make it easier to let go of disruptive members or encourage inactive members to move on.

These policies should be flexible, however, and adapted to the needs of the local program. If a program has a difficult time recruiting advisory council members, it does not need to stipulate a minimum or maximum term length. If the program has more persons wanting to serve than positions available, it may be helpful to have term limits renewable by mutual agreement. Long- term advisory council members frequently become excellent parent leaders.

How Can Good Council Members Be Recruited and Trained?

One way to recruit new members is to solicit applications and keep them on file. Staff can encourage participating parents to apply and ask professional colleagues to refer other possible candidates. Current advisory council members can suggest the names of other potential members. When a council vacancy opens, the applications are reviewed by the council or by the executive committee (the council officers). Selection of members is based upon qualifications, current membership balance of council, council demographics relative to community composition, and interest of the applicant. The president of the council then calls the new members and sets a time for an orientation session. A well-planned orientation can enhance the effectiveness of council members. Without training, council members may take a long time to become attuned to the program's goals and the council's mission. With training, they are ready to start work and contribute ideas immediately.

A training team of one parent volunteer and one staff person can provide an effective, efficient orientation. Brief information on the program’s history will give the council member some idea of program origins and changes. Basic information on the role of members, meeting time and place, description of program services, the budget, and the program goals are essential parts of the training. Committee job descriptions, legal limitations of the advisory council, by-laws, and minutes from past meetings should be distributed to new members. When recruiting board members, it is essential to include the requirement of attendance at the orientation session.

Because ECFE advisory councils do not have the legal responsibilities of policy boards and thus the power, influence, and authority to enforce their recommendations, it is critical that staff build in rewards for serving on the advisory council. Regular communication and feedback from the staff on the council's work and value to the program are essential. Accurate and realistic job descriptions and orientation to the board help to ensure that advisory council members enjoy their Early Childhood Family Education program service. Some advisory councils have one or two gatherings per year for members and their spouses and/or children. These could include a seasonal party or picnic. Awards, plaques and public recognition also serve to reward the active advisory council member.

What are the Areas in Which Advisory Councils can be Especially Effective?

There are at least six major areas in which advisory councils can be very helpful to the operation of Early Childhood Family Education programs.

1. Contributing recommendations for program policies, goals, objectives, and ideas:

The council should begin by formally or informally assessing community needs. Because advisory members represent diverse groups, they bring information from the larger community and offer a wide range of viewpoints, experience, and skills to help determine programming and solve problems facing the program. Through their involvement in other community activities, members can contribute information on innovative and effective approaches used elsewhere. Members can also serve as a bridge to other agencies to promote program collaboration and linkage in order to provide better services to
particular groups. For example, ECFE collaboration with a child care center could serve employed parents and enhance both agencies' services to this population.

After they annually update the community needs assessment and program goals and objectives, council members can make recommendations on length of sessions, scheduling of classes, fee amounts and policies, family activities, field trips, session formats, curriculum planning, program changes, and guest speakers.

2. Developing a source of volunteers and training volunteers:

Once goals and objectives have been recommended by the advisory council and adopted by the program, the staff is primarily responsible for their implementation. Advisory councils remain involved at this stage by monitoring program progress and by developing an active group of volunteers to assist with program operations. Council members themselves are often active in many aspects of direct volunteer service to the agency, but they can also help recruit and train a cadre of volunteers to insure smooth program operations.

Volunteers can assist the program in actual operations by:

becoming home visitors,

facilitating parent involvement in activities,

assisting with children's classes or providing occasional child care, acting as guest lecturers or leading workshops,

directing family night activities, serving as resource librarians,

helping in selection and inventory of resource library materials, making and fixing toys and games for the classroom or library, building a loft or play equipment for the children’s classroom, sharing their cultural heritage, foods, and traditions,

arranging and leading field trips, keyboarding or other clerical duties,

preparing an annotated bibliography of books on parenting, writing parenting columns for local newspapers, and sharing general housekeeping duties.

When developing volunteer positions, staff and council members should write up clear job descriptions including job duties and functions, skills and qualifications needed, and important deadlines. It is essential to involve parents at the level at which they are most comfortable. As parents’ skills and self-confidence increase, so will their readiness to take on bigger and more complicated volunteer positions. The more that parents are involved in the actual operations of the program, the more likely they are to become committed to the program and see its successes as their own.

3. Promoting the program, outreach, and community relations:

Promoting the program within the community is one of the most important functions of an advisory council. An advisory council with broad-based representation from the community acts as a conduit for information from various constituencies to the program and its staff. It also carries information from the program back to eligible parents in the community, other agencies and groups, potential donors or funding sources, and the general public.

By serving on the council, members give their personal and community sanction to the program and its work. They can build community relations by developing an outreach and dissemination package. These efforts can include a calling committee, poster design and distribution, newsletter preparations, press releases, plans for special outreach events and open houses, and presentations on the program for local community groups. By assisting in the development of slide presentations, video clips, photo displays, program brochures, and program logos, council members can improve dissemination efforts.

4. Assisting in program evaluation:

The advisory council works with the staff to assess program effectiveness and to determine how well the program is meeting its goals. With evaluation material gathered by Early Childhood Family Education staff, along with members' observations, feedback from families and agencies and other information, the advisory council can help to assess whether the program is meeting community needs. Council members can assist with evaluation efforts by reading summaries of parent evaluation surveys that protect the confidentiality of staff and parents, and by participating in discussions with staff and program participants. The resulting information can be used by council members and
staff to make recommendations for future programming and changes in operations and services. Advisory council members can also use this information to examine their council’s operations in terms of membership, roles, training, and volunteer opportunities. The evaluation of ECFE program staff and other personnel matters are the responsibility of the ECFE Coordinator and other district administrators, and thus are outside the purview of the advisory council.

5. Serving as an advocate for Early Childhood Family Education programs in the community and Legislature:

Since the existence of Early Childhood Family Education programs depends upon community support and legislative financing, advocacy is a responsibility of ECFE advisory councils. Council members can organize or participate in public awareness and advocacy efforts to ensure program continuation and increased funding. Planning open houses for community members, legislators, school board members, local educators, and the general public are important parts of this role. Council members can also join other parents statewide by becoming active in regional and state advocacy activities.

6. Expanding resource development:

The area of resource development includes personnel as well as fund raising. An advisory council could help participate in staff selection if possible within district guidelines. Some school districts encourage advisory council input on staff hiring, while others discourage involvement in this area. If the school administration is agreeable, advisory members can serve on screening or interview committees in hiring. They can also provide valuable feedback on the performance of program staff.

Development of financial and material resources requires close staff and advisory council teamwork. The advisory members can provide information about and access to community sources of funds and materials. They also validate the program's funding requests by assuring the community that a valuable and effective service is being provided for the school district's families. Although staff is ultimately responsible for preparation of proposals, fund raising projects, and presentations to school boards and funding sources, council members can be involved in all of these efforts.

Fund Raising

When ECFE coordinators need to expand their program resources through fundraisers and other funding resources, they will want to carefully plan these efforts. In selecting a fundraiser, consider the expertise and talents of advisory council members, program participants, and staff and how these may define or enhance the fundraiser. Consider if the fundraiser can be used from year to year, planning it for the same time annually. For example, a community can come to expect and anticipate a large garage sale sponsored by the program every spring. Most importantly, discuss and clear all fund-raising plans with school district administration well in advance. Since district policies vary on use of supplemental money for school programs, be sure to include district administrators in the planning process from the very beginning. Keep all funds raised by the advisory council in a separate account within the Community Services fund (Fund 04) that allows parent discretion over how funds are spent. The advisory council chairperson and the program coordinator can be designated as co-signers for this separate account.

As alternatives or complements to fund raisers, think about developing and using volunteers, collaborating with other programs to reduce costs of particular offerings, and writing grant proposals to local businesses or private donors to fund specific efforts or items. Consider asking senior citizen groups or vocational or college students to serve as program assistants for little or no cost. If a community has active service organizations, these groups may be willing to designate one of their fundraisers for an ECFE program. Begin by showing the 13-minute state ECFE videotape and speaking to various service clubs about the program and its benefits to the community. Parent advisory council members may be excellent speakers or co-speakers. Next, develop a letter stating specifically why you are asking for funds and for what they will be used. Then send it to the most receptive of these audiences. Service clubs often want to fund concrete, lasting items such as new baby gifts, classroom equipment, or resource library supplies.

A prime consideration in fund raising projects is the amount of work involved in relation to the amount of money a project produces. Ideally, all fundraisers would involve little effort and yield big profits. In reality, the experienced fundraiser knows that most profitable fundraisers are a lot of work, and those that are not often net slim profits. There are always exceptions to these generalizations, however. When conceptualizing and carrying out fund raising efforts, the more practical yet creative program staff and advisory council members can be, the more successful their fund raising efforts are likely to be.

What are the Benefits of Having an Advisory Council?

The major reason for having an advisory council is that national research on early childhood and family education programs strongly indicates that programs in which parents were not involved in planning, participation, and organization did not succeed. The children did not sustain cognitive gains regardless of the theoretical model or program design. Programs were not successful in obtaining parent participation if parents were not involved in planning, evaluation, and outreach.

Benefits to parent advisory council members include expanded knowledge and skills, as well as enhanced parental self-esteem and confidence. Active membership provides relevant job-related experiences and an excellent addition to a resume for an individual entering or re-entering the field of employment. For these benefits to accrue, staff members must work to ensure the advisory council plays an active, relevant role with actual responsibilities and input and doesn’t just serve as a rubber stamp for staff ideas and programs. There should be opportunities for individual growth through interaction with staff, site visits, participation in staff training and conferences, and movement to paid employment, if appropriate.

Parent advisory councils strengthen parent commitment to Early Childhood Family Education. Without enthusiastic, committed parents, program continuation and expansion are not possible. Legislators who fund ECFE programs are generally more responsive to parent constituents communication and advocacy than they are to similar efforts by staff. Over time, advisory council members develop deeper confidence and trust in the
program. Their willingness to take on volunteer commitments and to enhance program resources increases. When staff and council members work together as a team, diversity of leadership, communication skills, knowledge of community resources, and program operations and growth are significantly enriched.

Appendices

7A Early Childhood Family Education Advisory Council

Chapter 8: Program Outreach

Rationale

How many times have you heard the parent of a school-age child exclaim, “If only I had known of ECFE when my children were younger”? Or, after sharing with someone what you do for a living, how often do you hear, “What is ECFE?” Answers to these questions require us to ask the following: How do parents and families learn about our programs and services?

Since its inception, Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) programs were intended to serve all parents of children from birth to kindergarten enrollment. ECFE programs have always been voluntary, both for families to participate and for school districts to offer. Program staff must focus not just on reaching full attendance, but on reaching a demographic cross-section of the families living in the communities they serve.

Minnesota Statutes 124D.13, Subdivision 2, lists the program requirements for ECFE programs. One of the requirements (item six) is “a community outreach plan to ensure participation by families who reflect the racial, cultural, and economic diversity of the school district.” Item four requires “information on related community resources,” which is also a part of the outreach process.

Defining Outreach

The following was adapted from Wikipedia: Outreach is an effort by an organization or program to connect its ideas or practices to the efforts of other organizations, groups, specific audiences or the general public. Unlike marketing, outreach does not inherently revolve around a product or strategies to increase market share.
Outreach often takes on an educational component (i.e., the dissemination of ideas, information, etc), but it is increasingly common for organizations to conceive of their outreach strategy as a two-way street in which outreach is framed as engagement rather than solely dissemination or education. Outreach strategies are linked to the organization's mission, and define targets, goals, and milestones.
Considering this definition from Wikipedia, a program might define their outreach plan as an effort by their early childhood programs to connect its services and programming with the general public. More specifically, the effort might include connecting services with the efforts of other organizations or programs (e.g. Head Start, WIC, local hospital, school district, ABE, etc), with groups (e.g. childcare providers, pediatricians, kindergarten teachers, etc) and specific audiences (e.g. parents of children birth to age 5, parents of multiples, parents of children with special needs, grandparents, Hispanic parents, parents of newborns, etc).
Outreach is proactive, purposeful contact with others outside of your organization or program. After defining outreach, programs need to develop and implement an outreach plan. A quick internet search of “community outreach plan” will yield numerous examples.

Program and Outreach Planning

As ECFE staff develop an outreach plan, it is helpful to carefully think through programming plans. When just starting up a program, this is the obvious way to begin. But even when a program has been operating for some time, it is a good idea to regularly evaluate the plan. Zero-based budgeting can provide a precedent for this process. Instead of using last year’s budget and program plan and tweaking them to fit the current year’s plan, picture your programming as a detailed list written in chalk on a chalkboard. Now pick up an eraser and carefully wipe off everything on the chalkboard, getting back to a blank slate. Then ask yourselves the following questions: who, what, when, where, and why? Please note, the questions provided below are examples, not a complete list.

Who?
Who lives in your school district(s) and/or communities? Who are the families you are trying to reach and what are their characteristics and demographics? Who will teach or deliver the classes or home visits? One parent educator, one children’s teacher, parent educator with teacher assistants, parent educator with public health or clinic nurse, parent educator with Adult Basic Education (ABE) or English Language Learner (ELL) or Early Childhood Special Education teacher, parent educator with children’s teacher and teacher assistants (typical ECFE staffing), other combinations?

What?
What programming will you provide and at what cost to your program and/or families? Center-based classes, special events, and/or home visits? Separate classes to focus on children of different ages? Specific classes for parent affinity groups such as single parents, teen parents, immigrant families, fathers, working mothers, etc.? If mixed age, how will you best serve families of infants? Home visits to families of newborns? What organizations can you work with to reach the families in your service area?

When?
What days? Time of day or evening? Length of single class session or home visit? For how many weeks? Any weekend hours? Any summer offerings? How will you compensate staff for time devoted to outreach, preparation, contact, and travel?

Why?
Determine one to three goals for each class or home visit series, as well as each individual class or home visit that you plan to deliver. What is the purpose of activities chosen for each class or home visit? If there was low participation in specific program components in the past, think about why.

After creating a clear picture of the who, what, when, where, and why of your ECFE program, you can better focus on how to market to the families you aim to serve. (See Chapter 9 for information on preschool census, needs assessment, and budget planning.)

Creating your Outreach Goals

What do you want to accomplish with your outreach efforts? Some broader goals might be to:

Increase the visibility of your program or services

Connect with parents and families

Broaden community support

Find new allies and/or partners

After identifying your broader goals, you should list specific, measurable goals. Considering program requirements as set by Minnesota statutes, your goals must include ways to ensure participation by families who reflect the racial, cultural, and economic diversity of the school district.

Developing Outreach Strategies

When developing an outreach plan, think again about the “who” of the families living in your community and/or school district and compare this information with the demographics of your participants and the community at large (see Chapter 12 for information on ECFE Participant Questionnaires and utilize community demographic data, for instance, from www.census.gov). After compiling data, analyze it so you have information to guide your outreach plan. There will be many levels of analysis, so you may want to know ahead of time what information you need. Some programs compare their participant questionnaire demographics with demographics from the Census Bureau. They can then ascertain, for example, if there are there certain segments of the population (e.g. fathers, single parents, Hispanic parents, grandparents raising children, etc) who are under-represented among program participants. In turn, members of these under-represented populations can be sought for suggestions or recruited to parent advisory councils.

Wherever your analysis leads you, a potential next step is to ask staff and advisory council members to brainstorm strategies to better reach and serve these populations. After brainstorming possible strategies, examine the pros and cons of each and select one or more strategies to implement. “Who” will do which outreach tasks and “when?” After implementing the new strategies, assess whether they are effective relative to the time they require.

The following are a sampling of effective outreach strategies used by ECFE programs since their inception in 1974.

Ask parent participants and professional colleagues to tell others about ECFE. Word-of-mouth has been and will likely always be the most effective outreach strategy. Parents who participate in and appreciate ECFE tell friends and others about the program. After they join and become familiar with the program, these parents tell others, and so on. If we think of our own experience, we are more receptive to referrals on child care providers, schools, doctors, dentists, carpenters, etc. through recommendations from a trusted friend or service provider.

Many programs have found social networking sites, like Facebook, to be very effective for word-of-mouth advertising. Check with your district regarding social networking policy issues.

Send newsletters to every family with children aged birth through kindergarten entrance in the school district or program area. These newsletters should include a brief but clear ECFE program description, class and program offerings, and registration information and be mailed a few weeks prior to each new session of classes. Describe program fees clearly and promote the availability of sliding fees and fee waivers. Newsletters can also be mailed to government officials, faith communities, health providers, agency staff, public and private school personnel, etc. to inform the public about your program offerings.

Publish an ECFE program description along with class offerings and registration information in the Community Education brochure that is mailed to every household in the school district.

Post an ECFE program description, class offerings, and registration information on a school district Website - or create a local ECFE Website.

Create a link to your programs on the main page of the district website.

Use the state’s current 13-minute ECFE informational video (available from the Minnesota Department of Education at 651-582-8402 or see Preface Appendix) as part of a presentation by staff or advisory council members to such groups as community agency staff, legislators, candidates, school board members, county commissioners, council members, public and nonpublic school personnel, doctors, hospital personnel, public health nurses, clergy, realtors, service clubs, resource and referral personnel, chambers of commerce, law enforcement, and other community leaders. If applicable, ask them to regularly refer parents to your program.

To highlight your program, offer open houses and potluck suppers at the program site for the same groups as above.

Provide public service announcements to local radio and television stations throughout the year. Interviews with staff on community service programs on local cable television and radio stations are good ways to introduce ECFE and keep it in the community spotlight.

Suggest that advisory council members and parent participants send a letter to the editor of the local newspaper describing their personal experiences with ECFE and recommending the program to other parents.

Publish weekly or monthly schedules, information on workshops, speakers, field trips, other special events, and class registration procedures in the local newspaper or free community shopper publication.

List program announcements in local church, temple, and synagogue bulletins and newsletters.

Send special mailings to families of newborns after getting addresses from newspaper birth announcements and birth records from the Minnesota Department of Health (see Appendix 9B). Enclose a simple flyer with information on your program’s offerings for families of infants along with a copy of the state’s parent brochure on infants.

Make hospital visits to mothers of newborns.

Supply local health care and child care providers and public libraries with free copies of the state’s parent brochures on infants and toddlers (available from the Minnesota Department of Education at 651-582-8402 or see Preface Appendix). Have address stickers made with your program’s name and telephone number (with area code) and attach them to the state brochures.

Organize telephone and/or door-to-door recruiting by parent participants and staff. Having a staff member make home visits for program outreach can be very helpful for reaching isolated and/or special needs families.

Set up informational booths at community festivals, educational fairs, professional conferences, and county fairs. Send brightly colored one-page flyers on ECFE programming home with every public and nonpublic elementary student and child attending a child care center, preschool, or Head Start program.

For program components that require a fee, publicize the first class session as free of charge, offer free classes to families of newborns, distribute discount coupons for new participants, and award coupons to current participants for bringing in new participants. And always publicize the sliding fee scale and availability of fee waivers.

Create adult and child sized T-shirts, tote bags, coffee mugs, or buttons with the program logo and name as a fundraiser. Parents and children who use them provide free advertising for the program.

Offer inservice training by ECFE program staff to health and human service practitioners, child care staff, and elementary school teachers. At each training’s conclusion, briefly promote the ECFE program, provide program brochures, and ask for referrals.

Arrange and publicize transportation to the program for families without access to cars or public transportation.

Considerations for Printed Program Materials

The first impression many people will have of the Early Childhood Family Education program is its printed brochures, newsletters, or flyers. With personal computers widely available and printed materials everywhere, it is critical that printed materials about the ECFE program:

be well written, clear, and succinct and free of spelling, typographical, or content errors.

include information on the “who, what, when, where, and why” of their topic.

tell about program fees, discounts, and waivers and any transportation assistance available.

have an attractive and easy-to-read design and layout with a consistent format from issue to issue.

be attractive to both fathers and mothers and avoid overly “cutesy” illustrations and language.

offer some educational content such as parent-child interaction suggestions, activity ideas, poems, book reviews, etc. for parents who choose not to participate in the organized programming.

look professional and polished. Check out and use the printing resources of the school district (e.g., print shop, communication department) or community print businesses.

Suggestions for Writing Press Releases

The key criteria in determining whether an event is newsworthy are its novelty, timeliness, uniqueness, and human interest. Is your program new or offering a new component? Are you planning a special event that will offer great photo opportunities such as a vehicle fair for parents and children? Has your early childhood teacher just completed a continuing education trip to preschools/child care centers in another country? An article about a newsworthy event at your program will give your program free publicity. The steps to writing a press release are:

Summarize your story in the lead paragraph. Answer the questions “who, what, when, where, and why” near the beginning of the press release.

Keep the press release to one page if possible to respect the space limitations of most publications. Include no more than 15 words per sentence or 50 words per paragraph.

Keep your writing factual and objective. Avoid words that editorialize such as “wonderful, beautiful,” or “a good time was had by all.”

Include the address and specific location for any event you want to publicize. You may know where your school or park building is, but not everyone else knows.

If you mention a name, use the full name with correct spelling.

Write your release for an average reader who knows little about your organization. Avoid professional jargon and explain terms that may be unfamiliar to a lay reader, even if your staff uses them all the time.

Double-space type your releases.

Include your name and phone number with area code and e-mail address at the top of the press release in case someone wants to clarify something, ask a question, or ask for the best time to take pictures.

Send your release in as early as possible, preferably at least a week before you want it to appear in the paper. Some newspapers publish a deadline for submissions.

In any press release, include a one or two sentence description of your program with a contact telephone number with area code and e-mail address. Spell out Early Childhood Family Education, as well as using the better-known acronym ECFE – not everyone knows what ECFE is.

(Press release steps adapted from list by Norma Linsenman.)

Program Registration Considerations

If ECFE programs are truly attempting to serve a demographic cross section of the families in their community, staff must ensure that registration for classes and other program events does not encourage only highly literate and educated, organized, two- parent, assertive, persistent, car owners to enroll. Some registration practices may limit or exclude participation of families who are less literate or educated, are new parents of infants, speak English as a second language, do not have stable housing, work long hours at low wages, are single parents, face frequent crises with few resources, or do not have a car. Consider the following:

first come, first served registration requiring in-person sign-up on a specific day, resulting in long lines and long waits;

registration required for extensive periods of time such as a semester or school year and/or asking families to register in spring for fall classes, necessitating long range planning and commitment; and

registration procedures which require completion and submission of long written forms, immunization records, children’s social security numbers, emergency contact cards, fee payment or waivers, and other detailed information prior to acceptance into classes.

ECFE program registration strategies that will encourage participation by a more diverse variety of families include the following.

Keep registrations forms and procedures clear and simple and ask for submission of immunization forms, emergency contact forms, etc. at or before the second class meeting.

Schedule registration and beginning of new classes in the fall, winter, and spring. Include a number of alternate entry points throughout the year, such as open attendance classes for families of infants, drop-in family play times, special family events, and ongoing access to resource libraries.

Carefully determine relative priority to be given to registrations in person, over the phone, by postal mail, by e-mail, or by Web page. Plan for adequate staffing to process registrations quickly and efficiently.

To minimize the distraction of phone inquiries during registration, publicize how registrations will be confirmed (may include notifying only if class is full) and follow up. Postcards can be sent to families with specifics about their registered class (what, when, where) and reminders about information to bring to early class meetings (e.g., immunization records, emergency contact numbers, etc.).

Give priority to school district residents and charge higher fees for non-residents.

Add new classes to accommodate demand for over-enrolled classes and/or hold lottery drawings after a well-publicized deadline for printed registrations.

Reserve a portion of mixed-age class slots (up to 25 percent) for referrals, move- ins, and other new participants.

Special Family Events

As an outreach strategy and non-threatening introduction to ECFE programming, as well as legitimate programming in their own right, special family events can be very effective. These events at which the whole family is welcome include celebrations around a seasonal theme, children’s music concerts, open gym nights, swim sessions, toy-making workshops, puppet shows, or a vehicle fair (a parking lot full of parked vehicles such as an ambulance, fire truck, tractor, limousine, taxicab, bus, etc. with friendly, knowledgeable drivers/owners to talk about their vehicle with parents and children). These events can be primarily recreational or educational in focus, or a blend of both.

One strong caution around seasonal events is to avoid focusing on specific cultural or religious celebrations to the exclusion of others. A second caution is to avoid making one-time family events the centerpiece of ECFE programming to the detriment of ongoing parent-child classes or home visits. If the mission of ECFE is to enhance the ability of parents to provide the best possible environment for the healthy growth and development and school readiness of their children (see Chapter 1), this is better accomplished through building relationships with and among families through ongoing educational programming.

The planning and organization of special family events can be done in part by volunteers, but program staff will need to oversee event development and implementation. Although the basic element in any family event is an opportunity for families to enjoy activities they may not be able to do at home, the specific mix of activities can be of almost infinite variety. A typical family event may have a wide variety of activities available in a number of different locations throughout large areas of a school building or other community facility. It might consist of large group activities in the gym, such as singing, creative movement, scooter relays, or parachute games; snack making in the kitchen; art activities in the art room; science activities and free play in the children’s room; a puppet show in the library; and bubble blowing outside on the playground. A well-publicized family event can attract large numbers of people, so it’s important to include a blend of large group, small group, and parent-child one-on-one activities.

Field Trips

Fun and educational field trips are an attraction for parents and children, with many destination possibilities. A program staff person should visit a field trip site before taking families there. This enables staff to find out if it is a suitable place to bring parents and young children, as well as plan ways to minimize any hazards. Staff can also give the person who will be conducting the tour suggestions on talking to preschoolers in simple concrete language and making the tour age-appropriate. Staff should prepare children and parents in advance for what they will see on the field trip. Rules for behavior on fieldtrips must be clearly explained to parents and children. It is not unusual for children to misbehave when both their parents and teachers are present, so expectations and parent- teacher roles should be clarified. Be informed about and address the liability and safety issues of both the school district and field trip site. (See Chapter 10 for information on requirements for transporting young children.)

Some good possibilities for field trips for young children and parents are:

airport

apple orchard (in the fall)

art museum

automobile repair shop bakery

boat trip

botanical garden or arboretum chick hatchery (in the spring)

children’s theater

circus

city or state park (see if a naturalist will lead the group in nature activities, hikes, and a visit to the park museum)

conservatory or greenhouse (especially nice in late winter or early spring)

construction site

creamery (call to find out when they are making cheese)

dentist office

farm (milking time on a dairy farm)

fire station fish hatchery

grain elevator (call to find out when grain will be delivered)

grocery store

historical site or museum (especially if they are living history sites or have hands- on activities)

hospital

ice cream shop

music store

newspaper

pet shop planetarium

public library (ask ahead if there’s a children’s librarian and how families can apply that day for library cards)

rock quarry

short train trip

snow sliding hill

television or radio station

veterinary clinic

water department

zoo

Guest Speaker Nights

Guest speakers can be a good attraction for families new to ECFE. Again, it’s important that guest speakers not dominate ECFE programming, since ongoing, interactive parent education is generally more effective at stimulating learning and motivating behavior change. Although programs may pay professionals to serve as guest speakers, it is also possible to recruit high quality guest speakers for free. For some professionals such as psychologists, book authors, or pediatricians, this is a good way to advertise their services, sell their books, or reach new clients. Even if guest speakers do not charge for their time, programs should offer to pay travel expenses or mileage. The likelihood of a good turnout will increase if guest speaker nights are offered free or at a minimal cost to families and free child care is provided. It is also important to publicize speaking events heavily and well in advance.

Resource Libraries

Program libraries that loan a variety of parent and child books, videotapes/DVDs, and audiotapes, as well as children’s toys, can attract parents to ECFE programs, especially in rural areas. Some parents report they enrolled in the program so their children could benefit from access to a variety of toys and books. Others indicate they appreciate learning how children’s development can be enhanced by appropriate toys and activities.
Still others borrow more expensive, durable toys from the library to determine which toys their children enjoy before purchasing them. If ECFE programs offer resource libraries, it is important that staff closely coordinate efforts with other local libraries and regularly inform families of the public library’s many services. When families of young children gain the habit of using their community libraries, they have gained a lifelong opportunity for enjoyment and learning.

Toys, books, and videotapes/DVDs can often be gathered by purchasing gently used toys at rummage sales and soliciting donations from the community. Focus on gathering and purchasing multi-use, durable, educational, and high quality toys. The toys and learning materials the program stocks and uses serve as models for parents. Staff can ask parents, grandparents, vocational schools, and high school woodworking classes to make toys for the classroom and resource library. Some programs have received contributions from local service organizations or applied for grants to purchase toys and books for their libraries and children’s rooms. Book drives can ask parents to deposit new or used books in labeled boxes set out in elementary schools. The books can be used in the resource center, classroom, or for outreach efforts. Homemade toys and games, with directions for making them, are good inexpensive library items. After initial setup by staff, the maintenance, repair, and checkout of library materials can be handled by staff and/or parent volunteers.

Revised August 2010

Chapter 9: Budgeting

Why is Budgeting Important?

Budgeting is the central means of creating the road map for a program year and implementing program goals and objectives. It is the financial part of good planning for any organization and should be done annually with goal setting and objective planning sessions. Thoughtful planning, including setting goals, objectives, and budget parameters, is essential to effectively and efficiently managing Early Childhood Family Education programs.

The coordinator is responsible for developing a budget that is fiscally responsible, supports the program philosophy, and aligns community needs with the use of resources. This means that the coordinator should be actively involved in the development of the program budget. To be effective in this area, the coordinator must be knowledgeable about the budgeting process, i.e., the district and state guidelines and statutes for budgeting, spending, and reporting. Working closely with school district finance personnel helps assure compliance with both local district procedures and state statutes. Budgeting is a straightforward process that uses basic mathematics. All coordinators can develop the skills needed to create and manage an effective ECFE program budget.

The coordinator should involve parents, advisory council members, and staff in determining spending priorities during the annual planning process. This means providing both advisory council members and staff with an overview of this process and gathering their input before the budget is submitted to the district or Community Education Director. The coordinator should also periodically update staff and the Advisory Council on the budget’s status.

School District 0-4 Year Old Census Count (Preschool Census)

The 0-4 Year Old Census Count is the foundation of funding ECFE programs. Information from the census includes: child’s name, child’s gender, child’s birth date, mother’s name, father’s name, mailing address, and home phone number. By December 1st, districts must submit to the Department of Education an accounting of children 0-4 years of age residing in the school district using the 0-4 Census Online Data Submission System on the Minnesota Department of Education Web site. This count may be based either on an actual count of all 0-4 year old resident children as of October 1st (age as of September 1st) or on a figure calculated by averaging the last four years’ kindergarten enrollment and multiplying by five (for age groups zero through four). These child counts are used to calculate aids/levies for ECFE programs and School Readiness and determine the amount of funding individual districts receive. Every fall information is sent to Community Education Directors and Superintendents regarding the 0-4 Census Online Data Submission System. For questions regarding the submission of 0-4 Census Data, contact Greg Sogaard at su.nm.etats|draagos.erg#su.nm.etats|draagos.erg or 651.582.8858. See Appendix 9A for details on ECFE funding.

While school districts are not required to maintain a 0-4 census, it is almost a necessity for accurate ECFE funding and outreach to participants. And in rapidly changing school districts, a 0-4 census will be more precise and reliable for planning for elementary school enrollment than the averaging method. Information from the census includes: child’s name, child’s gender, child’s birth date, mother’s name, father’s name, mailing address, and home phone number. ECFE coordinators should work closely with district personnel to collect the 0-4 census information and to ensure that 0-4 census figures are current and as precise as possible. Most districts request access to county birth records to get information on new babies in the school district. There may or may not be a charge for this service. Requesting death records is also recommended to avoid the sending of ECFE information to a family whose child has died. Birth records may also be requested from the Minnesota Center for Health Statistics at the Minnesota Department of Health. For a fee, the records can be requested by zip code on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. See Appendix 9B for details.

The most difficult part of keeping an accurate census is finding out about new families with pre- kindergarten-aged children who have moved into the school district. School census forms may be left with Head Start, WIC, Public Health, the Chamber of Commerce office, realtors, churches and other religious institutions, and child care providers. Enclosures in phone bills or utility statements are also an effective way to find families new to the district. If ECFE newsletters or new baby welcome letters are mailed to individual addresses, “Address Service Requested” may be typed below the return address. If a family is no longer at the address listed, the mailing will be returned to the sender with the correct forwarding address. There is a fee for this service. See Appendix 9C for a guide to the 0-4 census process.

Planning and Developing the Program Budget

While working to obtain accurate census information to determine the program’s funding base, coordinators can begin to plan and develop the program budget. Each of the three following steps is important for effective program planning and management.

1. Plan program direction and offerings.

Assess local need by identifying the families that live in the school district by number, age, occupation, education, ethnicity, and other descriptive categories. Identify what the community currently offers to families and look for gaps or overlaps. Then review the program mission or purpose, define goals, set objectives to advance these goals, and form action plans to accomplish each objective. The state mission and goals (see Chapter 1) should be reference points when planning a local ECFE budget. These goals give programs a blueprint for developing more specific measurable objectives. Staff and advisory council members can brainstorm possible objectives and select those most likely to achieve program goals after evaluating each objective’s pros and cons, including its costs and benefits. Although estimating costs of services is not an exact process, it will result in more informed programming decisions.

To complete this planning step, develop an action plan to meet each objective. This may include specific curriculum offerings and daily lesson plans, with smaller decisions to be made throughout the year in regularly scheduled staff meetings. Clearly written and time-phased objectives serve as yardsticks for program staff to measure their progress in attaining program goals during the fiscal year.

2. Estimate available resources.

The first step in planning your budget is to estimate how much revenue will be available for the program. The foundation of your program budget will be the state aid and/or local levy funds that are generated by the ECFE funding formula. Districts may also charge participant fees (on a sliding scale basis) and secure additional funding from other public, private or local sources.

ECFE State Aid and Local Levy: The ECFE formula currently provides annual revenue of $96 times the district’s 0-4 Census population for the prior school year. For example, you can estimate your formula budget for the coming year, 2005-2006, by multiplying your 0-4 Census for Fall 2004 times $96. ECFE formula revenue consists of local levy and state aid.

To receive ECFE revenue, a district must first certify an ECFE levy, which is limited to the lesser of: 1) the district’s tax capacity times a tax rate set by the Department that is the same for all districts or 2) the district’s maximum formula revenue—$96 per resident age 0-4. Levies are certified in the Fall one year prior to the school budget year. For example, the ECFE levy for the 2004-2005 budget year was certified in Fall 2003. Levies are based upon an estimate of the district’s formula revenue, using the most recent Census data available.

If a district’s local property tax base generates less than its maximum ECFE formula revenue, then it receives an ECFE aid entitlement equal to the difference between the certified levy and the district’s maximum formula revenue. A district with an ECFE levy equal to its formula revenue will not receive state aid. Forty-four districts certified levies in 2003 that will fully cover their 2004-2005 ECFE formula budget.

ECFE aid is disbursed automatically to districts eligible to receive state aid, through the same payment system – IDEAS – as other state education funds. The state pays districts 80 percent of their aid entitlements in the current fiscal year and the balance of 20 percent in the following year. However, districts earn – or recognize – and may budget 100 percent of their annual ECFE aid entitlement in the current fiscal year.

You can find your district’s certified levy and annual aid entitlement on the Early Childhood Family Aid Entitlement report, which is posted at the start of the fiscal year, on or about July 1st. This report is updated in late January or early February when excess fund balance penalty adjustments are calculated. You can also find your ECFE entitlement and monitor state aid entitlement payments via IDEAS by reviewing the IDEAS Combined Payment reports. These reports, posted at the middle and end of each month, record the bi-monthly state aid payments to districts.

Other Funding Sources: Participant fees are a common source of supplemental funding for ECFE programs. Statutes require districts to establish reasonable sliding fee scales, and to waive fees for participants unable to pay. For guidelines on fees, see Appendix 9D.

You may also ask your district administration to allocate to ECFE a portion of other public funding it receives, for example, Title I, staff development, capital outlay funds, district technology funds, and transportation funds. If ECFE has the same in-kind access to district facilities and related costs as other school programs, this is usually far preferable to having to use non-district program space with rent and utility costs charged to the ECFE budget. NOTE: When federal Title I funds are used for ECFE, the program/school must follow the Head Start Standards for children.

Coordinators may also seek additional funds from sources outside the district, for example, writing grant proposals. If coordinators plan to write proposals for grants to supplement their ECFE budgets, the following general guidelines may be helpful:

Research public and private funding sources to find a match between a funder’s priorities, interests, and past funding history and the program’s needs and interests.

If possible, identify an individual in the funder’s office with whom to develop an ongoing professional relationship.

After requesting and receiving grant application materials, read and follow the directions exactly while creating and writing the proposal.

Instead of guessing at the answers, ask your contact in the funder’s office any questions that may arise during the proposal development.

Format the final proposal copy so it is clear and easy to read.

Ensure delivery of the required amount of proposal copies on or before the proposal submission deadline.

If your school district employs a development staff person, ask him or her for assistance. For more information, contact the Minnesota Council on Foundations (612-338-1989), an organization that offers information and resources on grantseeking. Every two years, it updates a directory called Minnesota Giving: Guide to Minnesota Grantmakers, available in local libraries or for purchase. See Chapter 7 for advisory council fund raising ideas.

3. Estimate program expenditures.
Once you have a clear idea of your anticipated income, refer back to the program objectives and action plans and determine the type and number of staff needed to implement these plans. Determine how any planned collaboration with other programs or agencies would affect staffing and other costs. Complete a line-item budget, calculating the cost of all employee salaries, employee benefits, and estimating budget amounts for purchased services, office and instructional supplies, administration, and any equipment costs. Be sure to include all projected costs to implement the program you have planned. See the end of this chapter for sample budgets.

After calculating a total budget amount, bring anticipated expenditures in line with anticipated income by reducing or expanding the program objectives and budget as necessary. Develop a contingency plan to further adjust the budget if there is a budget shortfall or unexpected costs.

Two sample budgets can be found at the end of this chapter. Both budgets show line-item expenditures reported by UFARS expenditure object codes. Every district must annually report its revenue and expenditures to the state according to the Uniform Financial Accounting and Reporting Standards or UFARS. Information on UFARS object, finance, and program codes can be found in the current UFARS manual, located on the Budgeting page.

Your district business manager is responsible for ensuring that district’s accounting system follows the UFARS standards. However, it is essential that ECFE Coordinators be familiar with UFARS, and especially the restrictions that apply specifically to ECFE, so that they can work with the Community Education Director and/or business manager to ensure that the budget data reported in the district’s accounting system is accurate and follows the approved budget plan and state requirements and restrictions.

For example, Coordinators should be familiar with the limits on the kinds of expenditures that can be made from ECFE funds. A list of permitted object codes can be found in Chapter 10 of the UFARS manual, under “Restricted Finance Grid.”

Administration expenditures may not exceed five percent of total ECFE program revenue – aid, levy, fees, other local revenue, and grants. Administration includes the salary costs of any personnel who have administrative and managerial duties, excluding the ECFE Coordinator. This does not include personnel whose primary duties are instructional or non-instructional support. Administrators’ salaries are coded in UFARS under object code 110 – Administration/Supervision. ECFE Coordinators’ salaries must be coded under object 120 – Early Childhood/School Readiness/Adult Basic Education Administration/Supervision .

Also, districts must record all revenues and all expenditures for ECFE programs using UFARS finance code 325. When another finance code is required – for example, if the district has Taconite Reserve revenues (finance 371) or allocates general Community Education funds (finance 321) for ECFE program expenditures – the district must also use program code 580.

4. Closely monitor the budget and all program operations.

After it has been approved, a copy of the annual budget should be kept on file with the coordinator. This will ensure that the coordinator knows the status of the budget from year to year and enable her or him to make spending comparisons over time. The coordinator should also have access to monthly budget printouts to assure congruence between expenditures and the proposed budget and to make adjustments as needed.

Ongoing review of the program budget is necessary to account for all ECFE aid, levy, and other funds. Questions about any discrepancy concerning the amount of your aid entitlement or levy revenue may be directed to the MDE Program Finance Division. Questions about revenues or expenditures should be directed to local school district personnel. Each year, the coordinator can request the local school district’s final audit report on the reserve account.

Finally, monitor the implementation of program objectives and action plans by using them as reference points throughout the year. Participants, advisory council members, and staff should be regularly consulted by written surveys, focus groups, or interviews to assess their satisfaction with and suggestions for program offerings. See Chapter 12 for details on past and present ECFE evaluation efforts.

ECFE Reserve Fund Balance Limit: Any ECFE revenue that is not spent by the end of the fiscal year on June 30th may be carried over into the next year. All unexpended ECFE revenue – aid, levy, fees, grants, and other local revenue – is maintained in a separate reserve account.

Limited Resources

Lean budgets are a challenge to plan. Providing quality programming on a limited budget demands creativity and flexibility, but it is essential that high quality Early Childhood Family Education be provided with well-trained staff. Licensed teachers are required for working with both parents and children. This requirement has a major impact on program budgets, with good reason. If parent education is inaccurate or delivered in a way that undermines parents’ natural strengths, the program can do more harm than good. A qualified parent educator is therefore considered integral to positive parent outcomes. Likewise, a skilled early childhood teacher is necessary to serve the wide range of children from birth to kindergarten – often in the same class, to relate effectively to adults as well as children, and to be able to spot developmental delays and potentially handicapping conditions.

If a program has limited resources, it is important to remember that doing some programming well is better than providing more of poor or inadequate quality. Research also tells us that parents are more likely to change attitudes and behaviors through ongoing relationships with educators and other adults. This means that offering only a menu of special events with no ongoing classes is ineffective family education and does not meet the legislative intent of ECFE. Beyond working to enhance their funding base as discussed above and in Chapter 7, smaller school districts can explore opportunities for collaborative efforts with regional educational cooperatives and with neighboring districts via informal or joint powers agreements. The coordinator can consult and work with other community agencies to avoid service duplication and identify unmet needs of area families. These efforts will help assure that ECFE funds are spent in areas where they will have the greatest impact. See Chapter 6 for more information on community linkages.

Sample Budgets

The following are two examples of what the budget of a smaller and a larger district can provide. These two samples represent just a few of the many practical ideas that are feasible and appropriate for ECFE programming. To calculate each of these budgets, the following assumptions and typical figures were used.

Salaries: ECFE staff salaries vary widely throughout the state. To determine or update salaries in your local program, research the prevailing practices of similar sized school districts in your geographical region. See Appendix 9E for the Staff Information Survey Summary. Information from this survey should not be considered a recommended ideal, but a snapshot of actual ECFE staff salaries in Minnesota at a particular point in time.

All benefits (FICA, PERA, TRA, and health and other insurance) are grouped together and estimated at approximately 20% of salaries. Ask your business manager about current rates for your school district.

A full-time teacher is employed for 38 weeks and teaches 10 classes per week. Classes and special events are offered for at least 34 weeks of this time, with up to four more weeks available for some staff for planning, classroom setup, community collaboration, home visits, outreach, evaluation, etc.

Each parent-child class is estimated at 1.5 to 2 hours, with an additional half-hour before and after class used for one-on-one discussions with parents during arrival and departure, room set-up and re-design, cleanup, and class preparation, for an estimated 3 hours of paid staff time per teacher per class.

Total budget amount may differ from total aid and levy amount, depending on the availability of other sources of revenue and budget reserve.

SAMPLE $20,000 BUDGET Program Offerings
Parent-child classes: 2 per week for 16 weeks, 1 morning, 1 evening
Home visits: 5 to 10 per year
Special events/field trips: 2 to 5 per year
Advisory council meetings: 4 per year for fund-raising, programming suggestions, outreach
Staff meetings: 4 @ 2 hours each
Staff development: ECFE regional workshops and coordinators meeting, professional conferences

These line items are typically/often provided in-kind by the local school district.

Appendices

9A Early Childhood Family Education Funding
9B Minnesota Department of Health letter regarding birth records
9C A Guidebook for Deriving the 0-4 Year Old School Census
9D Guidelines for Early Childhood Family Education Sliding Fee Scale

Chapter 10: Administrative Issues

Role of Program Coordinators

Early Childhood Family Education coordinators are generally responsible for running the program. This includes determining the budget, hiring staff, and planning and evaluating programming. They must also be aware of the rules and policies of both the school district and the state that govern much of what they do. To be successful, a coordinator needs strong leadership skills, the ability to supervise and direct staff, good organizational skills, and the ability to work with both state department and local school district personnel. Chapters 9 and 11 provide detailed information about budgeting and staffing, respectively.

School District Policies/State Statutes

There are some general state statutes and guidelines regarding ECFE programs. (See Regulations/Statutes; Appendix 10B, Current Guidelines, Early Childhood Family Education; and Appendix 10 C, Transportation to Early Childhood Family Education and School Readiness Programs.) However, much of what a coordinator does will be governed by local school district policy: budget process and timeline, hiring and firing of staff, performance evaluation, staff development, etc. It is
important for coordinators to be knowledgeable about state laws and state and local policies governing ECFE. This will enable them to assure compliance with all relevant laws and policies and/or to work toward compliance as needed.

Transportation

The coordinator should be aware of the state statute regarding transportation of ECFE participants. Minnesota Statutes, Section 123B.88, Subdivision 12 states:
"School districts may provide bus transportation along regular school bus routes when space is available for participants in Early Childhood Family Education programs if these services do not result in an increase in the district's expenditures for transportation."
Further, Minnesota Statues, Section 169.685, Subdivision 5 requires every motor vehicle operator to use a child passenger restraint system (infant seat) when transporting a child under the age of four in a "…vehicle equipped with factory-installed seat belts." Because Types B, C, and D school buses are exempt from the seat belt requirement, school districts and contract operators are not required to use an infant seat or child passenger restraint system when
transporting a child under the age of four in Types B, C, and D school buses. If the child is being transported in a Type A or Type III school bus with factory-installed seat belts, a child passenger restraint system meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards is required by law. (See Appendix 10C.)

Different school districts interpret this statute differently and may also have their own policies regarding the transportation of preschool-aged children. Thus coordinators need to contact the individuals in charge of transportation for their school district for more information on this topic.

Data Management Procedures

MDE requires ECFE programs to submit two reports each year: the ECFE Annual Report form and the ECFE Participant Questionnaire Summary form, which summarizes participant demographic surveys. Both of these reports are due annually. The coordinator is responsible for knowing when these reports are due, ensuring that all ongoing participants fill out a Participant Questionnaire, keeping the records necessary to complete the two reports, and filing both reports in an accurate and timely manner.

In addition, the coordinator should ensure that all data such as immunization records, attendance records, employee files, release of information forms, etc. are maintained according to state statutes, school district policy, and data privacy laws. (See Appendix 10D, Data Practices and Early Childhood Education.) Coordinators should be aware of school district policies regarding records retention, as well as district copyright procedures and policies for acceptable use of technology resources.

Health and Safety Issues

Immunizations. It is best practice that all children enrolled in school be immunized. Coordinators should provide clear written information to parents about immunization requirements, convey the importance of this policy to staff and parents, ensure a filing system for current immunization forms, and have a procedure in place for following through with families who are not in compliance. See Appendix 10E, Kids Need Shots for School, and 10F, Pupil Health Immunization Record. Parents who choose not to have their child immunized must submit a signed immunization waiver form. For specifics on policies regarding waiver forms and notification about communicable diseases, contact the health services resource for your school district.

First Aid, CPR, and Blood Borne Pathogens. School district health services personnel, county and local agencies, and Minnesota Department of Human Services Rule 3 are valuable resources for developing these guidelines and providing staff training.

Implementation of a building crisis plan including fire and tornado procedures/drills and building evacuation plans. For ECFE programs housed in school buildings, check with the school district for current procedures. In non- school buildings, ask for district assistance in developing a plan.

Mandated child protection reporting. Check for current school district policies.

Space Regulations

ECFE programs are not child care programs, and parents are required by law to be physically present with their children for most ECFE programming. As a result, ECFE programs are not required to meet the standards for child care programs outlined in Minnesota Department of Human Services Rule 3 (Minn. R.
9503.0005-9503.0170 (2003)). But safety considerations, common sense, and best practice require that ECFE programs meet or exceed the health and safety standards portion of Rule 3 when designing and maintaining program space. If programs must lease space for ECFE programming, school districts may choose to levy for funding assistance for lease costs. (See Appendix 10G).

In even numbered years, the Minnesota Legislature focuses on bonding and frequently makes funding available for early childhood facilities. For information on the availability of funds and the application process, contact the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Insurance

Coordinators should consult with their district's Human Resources Department for information about professional liability, general liability, worker's compensation, and property coverage, since these coverages are provided by the school district. The coordinator should be aware of how these policies affect ECFE programs and staff and make certain that the district business manager is knowledgeable of ECFE operations to assure that the program and staff are adequately covered.

Relating to the Local School District

ECFE coordinators should make a point of understanding the culture of their local school districts. This includes awareness of the chain of command or organizational chart information and procedures for making and communicating program decisions with and to the Community Education director, superintendent, school board members, and other district personnel. It can be very helpful to cultivate knowledgeable ECFE supporters among upper level school district staff, administrators, and school board members.

It is also critical to effective program administration for ECFE coordinators and staff to develop and maintain ongoing relationships with other school district personnel and entities such as:

Program Evaluation

Introduction

Evaluation of Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) has been a priority since the first six pilot programs began in 1975. A variety of evaluations have been conducted as the program has grown and developed (See Literature/Research). Most early evaluations were formative (process) in nature. Limited funds for evaluation and the state of the art of family program evaluation have precluded any extensive summative (outcome) evaluation of Early Childhood Family Education to date. Repeated efforts seeking funds for evaluation from local and national foundations have met with limited success. The most common reason given by foundations for not funding ECFE evaluation proposals is that public funds should be used to evaluate a publicly funded program.

A statewide Early Childhood Family Education Evaluation Committee was established in 1986 to make recommendations and guide efforts related to program evaluation. This evaluation committee adapted the "Five-Tiered Approach to Evaluation" developed by Francine Jacobs and described in Evaluating Family Programs by Weiss and Jacobs (1988) to use in determining statewide evaluation priorities for Early Childhood Family Education. Dr. Weiss is with the Harvard Family Research Project, and Early Childhood Family Education was studied extensively as part of that Project. The ECFE Evaluation Committee found this framework to be a helpful tool for developing a comprehensive, long-range plan for program evaluation. The framework has recently been updated and is included in Appendix B. This chapter overviews past and present Early Childhood Family Education evaluations within the five-tiered framework.

TIER ONE – Needs Assessment

To determine the size and nature of a public problem

To determine unmet need for services in a community

To propose program and policy options to meet needs

To set a data baseline from which later progress can be measured

To broaden the base of support for a proposed program

National census data are available by school district, and other sources of community demographic data are accessible to local program staff. These data make it possible to estimate the basic demographic characteristics of eligible families by school district and provide information against which to compare actual participant data in order to determine if school districts are reaching a representative cross-section of the eligible population of families. School district demographic data available through the MDE Web site are also useful for this purpose. Community needs assessment data are also often available through local sources such as county social services or county health, city government, etc.

TIER TWO – Monitoring and Accountability

To monitor program performance

To meet demands for accountability

To build a constituency

To aid in program planning and decision-making

To provide a groundwork for later evaluation activities

Participant demographic data have been collected since 1987 from each participating family in every school district with an Early Childhood Family Education program and submitted to the Minnesota Department of Education (See Early Childhood Family Education Participant Questionnaire and Participant Questionnaire Summary forms with directions in Appendix 12C). These data provide a picture of participants statewide and by districts, which can be compared to census and other demographic data to determine if programs are reaching a representative cross-section of eligible families.

All Early Childhood Family Education programs submit an annual report to the Department of Education each school year on the Early Childhood Family Education Annual Report form (See Appendix 12D). This provides descriptive data on services delivered, number of participants served, and staff involved.

The ECFE Evaluation Committee worked with a consultant from the University of Minnesota to develop a process for cost analysis of Early Childhood Family Education programs that yields descriptive cost data on the cost per participant by type of service provided. This led to development of definitions of different types of direct service provided by Early Childhood Family Education (See Types of Direct Service Offered in Early Childhood Family Education Programs in Appendix 12G).

TIER THREE – Quality Review and Program Clarification

To develop a more detailed picture of the program as it is being implemented

To assess the quality and consistency of the intervention

To provide information to staff for program improvement

The ECFE Evaluation Committee, with input from statewide regional inservice sessions, developed a set of guiding principles that reflect program philosophy and describe basic beliefs underlying practice in Early Childhood Family Education. This same process was used to review and revise the existing mission and goals of Early Childhood Family Education (See Guiding Principles, Mission, and Goals of Minnesota Early Childhood Family Education in Appendix 1B). The ECFE Evaluation Committee also developed a question and answer booklet with answers to commonly asked questions about Early Childhood Family Education that reflect the guiding principles, mission and goals of the program.

The process described above was also used to review and revise a program self- evaluation instrument to be used by local program staff, parents, and advisory council members to review program practices and set goals for program improvement. The instrument, "Quality Indicators for Early Childhood Family Education Programs" (See Appendix 13A), provides a list of characteristics of successful programs that are consistent with the guiding principles, mission, and goals. The quality indicators were initially developed in 1978 by ECFE pilot program coordinators in a process led by Dr. Michael Q. Patton, nationally known evaluator, and have been revised several times since then. These indicators have been widely used by ECFE program staff, advisory council members, parents, etc. for yearly program planning and priority setting, orientation of new staff, curriculum writing, etc. A statewide committee developed and piloted an ECFE Program Enhancement Process that includes use of the quality indicators and other strategies intended to lead to program improvement (See Early Childhood Family Education Program Enhancement Process Manual on the MDE Web site at http://education.state.mn.us under Early Learning Services.). As part of this process the basic quality indicators in Appendix 13A were updated along with special quality indicators for Early Childhood Family Education programming related to: Addressing Challenging Child Behaviors (Appendix 13B) Inclusion of Children with Special Needs (Appendix 13C) Male/Father Involvement (Appendix 13D) Family Literacy Program Quality Indicators are also available from ?

Local Early Childhood Family Education programs conducted small group staff and parent discussions focused on more effectively meeting the needs of long-term parent participants in Early Childhood Family Education.

TIER FOUR – Achieving Outcomes

To determine what changes, if any, have occurred among beneficiaries

To attribute changes to the program

To provide information to staff for program improvement

In 1989 the Minnesota Legislature appropriated $25,000 for evaluation of Early Childhood Family Education. Most of these funds were used for staff from 24 programs representing statewide geographic distribution to work with Dr. Michael Q. Patton on a study of the effect of Early Childhood Family Education programs on parent participants. A key criterion of the study was to make the evaluation process part of regular, routine program processes and involve program staff in data collection and analysis. Patton worked with staff from the participating programs to develop a set of interview questions to be asked of parent participants prior to and at the end of participation in the program during the 1990-91 school year. The questions focused on core elements of change likely to occur for parents in Early Childhood Family Education programs across the state including changes in knowledge, attitudes, behavior and support. The questions were based on content commonly included in Early Childhood Family Education classes. Staff involved in the study worked with Dr. Patton to analyze the data. A summary and full report on these parent outcome study findings, Changing Times, Changing Families (Phase I): Minnesota Early Childhood Family Education Parent Outcome Interview Study, were completed in 1992 and are available from the Minnesota Department of Education.

In 1993 The McKnight Foundation awarded a $150,000 grant to study the impact of ECFE on lower-income participants. This study evolved from the 1992 evaluation report of parent outcomes and became Changing Times, Changing Families – Phase II: Immediate Outcomes of Lower-Income Participants in Minnesota's Universal Access Early Childhood Family Education. Marsha Mueller served as principal evaluation consultant to the project. The purpose of this evaluation was to learn what kinds of immediate outcomes could be expected for lower-income families participating in Minnesota's Early Childhood Family Education programs. During the 1994-95 school year, 700 families were surveyed from 14 school districts; 150 of these families participated in two rounds of in-depth interviews and videotaped observations, first in the fall and again in the spring. In addition to results reported by parents, staff assessments and independent ratings based on the videotapes were used to measure outcomes.

In 1991 five ECFE programs piloted a process for conducting telephone interviews with a sample of past parent participants and non-participants with children in second and fifth/sixth grade to compare their level of involvement in their children's learning and education.

As follow-up to the 1991 study above, in 2003, 13 school district Early Childhood Family Education programs and the Minnesota Department of Education formed a consortium to study the parent involvement of past ECFE participants and non- participants in their child’s kindergarten and third grade education. The mailed survey of 2,276 parents was conducted by the University of Minnesota Center for Survey Research and evaluator, Marsha Mueller. A copy of the study report is available

During the 1998-99-program year, following awarding of Early Childhood Family Education Infant Development grants to 174 school districts in 1998, parents with infants were surveyed to understand how they view the immediate results of their experience in Early Childhood Family Education. The study focused on outcomes of participation in ECFE: differences in how parents think about and approach parenting their infants, the extent and nature of parents’ participation in ECFE with their infants, and parents’ assessment of their ECFE experience.

Child outcomes have not yet been a major focus of ECFE outcome evaluations. However, as more ECFE teachers of three and four-year-old children become trained in use of the Work Sampling System of child assessment which is becoming widely used in other Minnesota early childhood programs, it is likely to become the main process used for ECFE child assessment. A number of ECFE programs are adapting Work Sampling for use with parents along with its use by early childhood teachers. As strategies for involving parents in the use of Work Sampling in ECFE become more refined, broader use of Work Sampling in ECFE is likely. Also, the developers of the Work Sampling System developed a birth-to-three assessment called the Ounce Scale, which should be useful for assessment with the very youngest children in ECFE in ways that meaningfully involve parents.

TIER FIVE – Establishing Impact

To contribute to knowledge development in the field

To produce evidence of differential effectiveness of treatments

To identify models worthy of replication

At this level evaluation shifts to a research purpose focused on testing theory generalizable across time and space. Programs such as ECFE are expected to conduct evaluation, not research.

References to the Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) Quality Indicators appear throughout this wiki. Information about their development and relationship to the overall evaluation and refinement of Early Childhood Family Education programming is contained in Chapter 12. This chapter contains complete copies of the primary quality indicators and three of their specializations.